WPIAL Basketball Playoff Recaps for Saturday, February 25th

By: Bruce Markey
Saturday, February 25, 2012 | 10:31 PM

We have reached the midway point of the 2012 version of the Battle to the Bluff with the completion of the Quarterfinals Weekend in the WPIAL Basketball Playoffs with all eight top-seeds still alive andf with only Shaler girls in Class AAAA having been eliminated with seven defending champs moving on to Round Three. Here are the recaps from Quarterfinals Saturday in Boys AAAA, Boys AA, Girls AAA and Girls A.

A specials THANKS to Dan Zangrilli, T.J. DiStefano, Glenn Thompson, Josh Rowntree, Mike Krcil, Mike Azadian, Bob Barrickman, Justin McKim, Paul Paterra, Brian Morziak, Melissa Carle, Mark Schaas, Don Rebel, Bob Gregg and Johnny Lee for their help on these recaps.

WPIAL CLASS AAAA Quarterfinals:

Shaler Titans 58 – Plum Mustangs 48 
The top-seeded Shaler Titans flexed their muscles late and were able to hold off a late charge by the Plum Mustangs and secure a 57-48 win in the quarterfinals round of the Quad-A boys' basketball playoffs on Saturday afternoon at North Allegheny High School.  The Titans' Geno Thorpe led his team with 24 points, however a big 13 points were also contributed by Pitt football recruit and Shaler center J.P. Holtz.  A defensive struggle throughout, the score was 21-15 in favor of Shaler at halftime, with Plum receiving eight of it's first-half points from guard Nolan Cressler.  Cressler would tally a game-high 28 in a losing effort.   The Titans (22-2) will advance to play the Central Catholic Vikings on Wednesday in the semifinals, while the Mustangs (16-8) hope for the Titans to run the District 7 playoff table and win a championship for an opportunity to participate in the PIAA playoff bracket.

Pittsburgh Central Catholic Vikings 55 – Peters Township Indians 47 
It was the tale of two halves Saturday afternoon at Canon McMillan High School as Gabe Pritz and #13 Peters Township controlled the first half, but once Pritz exited early third quarter that opened the door for #12 seed Pittsburgh Central Catholic and they seized it coming away with a 55-47 victory. Pritz, who scored 22 points in the first half, had a minor collision with Vikings Sam Calhoun, causing the stitches in Pritz's ear to pop out and forcing him out for the rest of the game. Pritz's head was heavily bandaged after he was punched by Woodland Hills player Shakeem Alonzo last weekend. With Pritz in the first half the Indians scored 32 points, without him in the second half they were outscored 28-15. The Vikings full court pressure and tough man to man defense gave the Indians problems the entire game leading to many turnovers. Peters Township led 15-9 after one and held a 32-27 lead at the half. However, the Vikings took charge in the second half with Pritz out of the lineup outscoring the Indians 15-5 in the third quarter to lead 42-37. The Indians would lose Kevin Glod in the 4th quarter after fouling out and the Vikings would continue the pressure defense along with getting hot from the floor to earn the victory. Peters Township was led by 22 from Gabe Pritz as mentioned earlier, next was Dakota Norton with 8 off the bench and Nick Parello also added 8. The Indians were 8 of 12 from the foul line. Pittsburgh Central Catholic was led by 24 points from Lincoln Davis. David Urso and Sam Calhoun added 7 each and Claude Scott had 6. The Vikings struggled from the charity stripe going 2 for 7. Pittsburgh Central Catholic improves to 14-10 and will take on #1 Shaler in the semifinals Wednesday at a site and time to be determined. Peters Township ends at 12-12

Butler Golden Tornado 63 – North Allegheny Tigers 61 in Overtime 
In almost the exact same fashion as their first round game against Chartiers Valley, Butler won their second round game against North Allegheny by a finaly of 63-61.  Butler spent much of the game trailing by four to eight points, but never letting NA build a lead bigger than 9.  North Allegheny decided to rely more on the attack into the paint than shooting three pointers, which was a success as time after time NA players were converting close to the hoop.  If not for the play of Cody West for Butler, the Golden Tornado may have been down double digits heading into the half, but West converted 6 of his first 6 three point attempts to keep Butler in the game.  Throughout most of the third quarter the Tigers carried the lead and the energy, as this was the third time these two teams have met this year (Butler won the first 2).  The Golden Tornado started the 4th quarter with a 6-0 before the two teams started trading baskets back and forth.  Nate Snodgrass, one of the WPAIL's leading scorers, was held to only two points in the first half, exploded for 16 of his 32 second half points in the 4th quarter.  With only a  few seconds to go in regulation, Snodgrass drove to the top of the key, drew contact with the defender and forced a three pointer, that sank through to tie the game at 61-61.  When starting overtime, NA controlled the tip and JC Howard shot a three pointer that wouldn't go, and it was rebounded by Butler.  The Golden Tornado would go on to hold the ball for close to three and a hald minutes, as they "played for the last shot" with over three minutes to go in overtime.  With 6 seconds on the clock, Snodgrass drove just inside the top of key, faded away, and drained the game winning basket.  Though NA's Ricky Minstermann would get a three point shot away before the buzzer (that rattled in and out) Butler secured their fate into the semi-finals of the WPIAL Quad-A bracket.  Snodgrass finised with the game's final 5 points, and 34 on the night, Cody West for Butler added 26 points and Butler won another game by 2.

Gateway Gators 60 – Seneca Valley Raiders 57 in Overtime 
The defending WPIAL Boys AAAA Champions are not ready to give up their crown. Barnett Harris forced a jump ball with under 4 seconds to go in overtime and #11 Gateway knocked out #14 Seneca Valley 60-57 in overtime Saturday afternoon at North Hills High School. Gateway was in front for the majority of the game, going up by 19-9 early on. Seneca Valley kept hanging around though, cutting the Gators lead to 31-24 at the break. However it was the Gators who would open the 2nd half on an 8-0 run, pushing their lead to 39-24. But then the Raiders got hot. Behind three 3-pointers early in the 4th, Seneca Valley would eventually force a tie at 51-51. Gateway would go up 53-51 and force a turnover, giving them the ball back with less than a minute to play. However, D.J. Boyce would lose the ball with 0:47 to go and Chad Albert would hit two foul shots with just over 12 seconds to play, forcing the game into overtime after Matt Shorr's 3-pointer at the buzzer would not go down for the Gators. The overtime session was a great one, with teams exchanging baskets before Gateway broke a 57-57 tie, as Tyler Wright would put home his only 2 points of the game. With just over 5 seconds to play, Harris would tie up the inbound pass with the possession arrow belonging to the Gators. DJ Bryce would hit a free throw with 0.9 seconds to go and a last second heave was off the mark, giving the Gators the 60-57 victory. Harris netted a game high 19 points, 8 rebounds and 3 blocks. Luke Kotchka scored 12 of his 16 points in the first half or the Gators, now 18-6, who move on to face #15 Butler in the Semifinals on Wednesday at a site and time to be determined. Seneca Valley, who were out-rebounded 23-13 in the game, got strong efforts from Alex Maxfield (15 points), R.J. McCauley (14 points) and Easton Bazzoli (10 points). Their season ends at 14-10 and need the Gators to repeat as WPIAL Champions if they want to reach the PIAA postseason.

WPIAL CLASS AA Quarterfinals:

Monessen Greyhounds 56 – Shady Side Academy Indians 38 
The Monessen Greyhounds used a second quarter surge to pull away from the Shady Side Academy Indians in Saturday's 56-38 victory, and find themselves on the doorstep to another trip to the WPIAL Finals in boys Class AA.  Senior forward Earl Pinkney scored 18 points, matched by the strong contribution off the bench by senior guard Jaisen Irwin, who also finished with 18.  At times, Shady Side looked overmatched by the much taller Greyhounds, and, at other times, they just couldn't get the ball to go down despite open looks.  The Indians made just 13 field goals and went 11-for-22 from the free throw line in a game that was close at the end of the first quarter (11-8 Monessen), but was pretty much out of hand after a 22-point deluge by the Class's top seed in the second quarter..  Monessen emptied their bench with 3:10 left in the contest, and Shady Side followed suit with 2:16 remaining.  The Indians were led by senior center Jake Ellis with 10 points, and senior swingman Aaron Horne contributed 7 in defeat.  The Indians' season ends with a record of 18-6, and they will lose their starting five to graduation.  The Greyhounds notched their 22nd win (against 2 losses) and will advance to face the Greensburg Central Catholic Centurions on Wednesday for the right to play for the title next weekend at the A.J. Palumbo Center.

Greensburg Central Catholic Centurions 62 – Northgate Flames 46 
At North Hills High School in WPIAL Boys AA Quarterfinal action the Greensburg Central Catholic Centurions defeat the Northgate Flames by a score of 62-46. Early in the game GCC took control, with staunch defense and great shooting to lead 9-0. Their transition game worked to perfection as rebounds turned to quick points. The Flames would not die and cut the lead to 6 at the end of the quarter by outscoring GCC 12-9 the last 6:00 minutes of the quarter, to make it 18-12. The second quarter Northgate came on with great rebounding by Jon Girvan. His strong game on the blocks started fast breaks or offensively ended with easy lay ups. The Flames went to the half down three points as they trailed 31-28. Into the second half GCC did it all on defense and used 14 second half Northgate turnovers to their advantage., At every turn they pressured the Flames and created offense from defense. The Centurions outscored the Flames 31-18 in the second half and easily won 62-46. It was disastrous for Northgate as Girvan fouled out with more than 2:00 minutes left. He ended up with 28 points and 19 rebounds to lead all scorers as Northgate falls to 14-11. Greensburg Central improves to 19-5 and was led by Zach Herman with 21 points, he was 6 for 6 from the free throw line, and PJ McGlaughlin with 13. The Centurions will face Monesson the defending WPIAL AA Boys champion on Wednesday February 29th at a site and time to be determined.

Beaver Falls Tigers 63 – Jeannette Jayhawks 45 
Sheldon Jeter struggled with his shooting early on but the 6’7” senior swingman found his touch and scored 33 points to lead Beaver Falls to a 63-45 win over Jeannette in a AA quarterfinal match at North Allegheny.  The Tigers led 24-16 at the half and eventually built a 14-point lead midway through the third quarter.  However, the Jayhawks stormed back to cut the deficit to one.  Leading 37-35 after three quarters, Beaver Falls regrouped to outscore Jeannette 26-10 in the final frame.  While Jeter was a perfect 8 of 8 from the foul line, point guard Drew Cook sank seven of eight free throws and added 11 points.  Forward Royce Watson had a strong game on the boards for the Tigers.  Michigan State football recruit Demetrious Cox netted 12 points for Jeannette and guard Duke Brown came off the bench to add 10 more.  Beaver Falls improved to 22-2 and takes on Sto-Rox in the semifinals on Wednesday.  The Tigers also will advance to the PIAA tournament next month.  The Jayhawks dipped to 16-8 and need either a Beaver Falls win or a Sto-Rox WPIAL title to move into the state playoffs.

Sto-Rox Vikings 56 – Quaker Valley Quakers 55  
Even with its top scorer out of the lineup, Sto-Rox found a way for the second consecutive season to eliminate Quaker Valley and advance to the WPIAL Class AA boys’ basketball semifinals. Makil Allen scored from inside with 20 seconds remaining, and the Vikings squeaked by the upset-minded Quakers, 56-55, Saturday at Ambridge. Dontez Ford, Sto-Rox’s leading scorer this season (16.9 points per game), missed the contest with an injury he sustained in a first round victory over Aliquippa. No matter. The Vikings delivered balanced scoring, led by JJ Short’s team-high 16 points, 10 of those coming in the second half. Quaker Valley (20-4) jumped out to a 16-6 lead before Sto-Rox responded with a 14-1 run in what turned into a see-saw contest. The Quakers had a chance to win the game in the closing seconds but saw their final two shots fall off the mark. Steven Emch scored a game-high 17 points, and Burke Moser added 13 for Quaker Valley. The Vikings’ defense held Quakers’ twins Sam (nine) and Joe (seven) Peduto to single-digit scoring numbers. Meantime, Allen and Lenny Williams each scored 12 points for Sto-Rox (22-2). The Vikings, with their eighth consecutive victory, secured a spot in the PIAA playoffs and will face Beaver Falls on Wednesday in the WPIAL semifinals. Head Coach Bill Minear earned his 200th victory at Sto-Rox.

WPIAL CLASS AAA Quarterfinals:

Hopewell Vikings 46 – Elizabeth Forward Warriors 35  
Shatori Walker-Kimbrough is considered one of the best basketball players in the WPIAL. Good thing for Hopewell that seems to be true. The Division One prospect scored 33 of her team's 46 points in the victory over Elizabeth Forward. Walker-Kimbrough scored the top-seeded Vikings' first 17 points and 24 of their 28 first-half points. She also keyed the Vikings' stifling 1-3-1 defense, with multiple steals and deflections. Hopewell advances to the WPIAL semifinals to play Chartiers Valley. Dana Buck led Elizabeth Forward with 16 points.

Chartiers Valley Colts 43 – Uniontown Red Raiders 25  
The Chartiers Valley Lady Colts won their 19th straight game and improved 22-2 on the season downing the Uniontown Lady Raiders 43 to 25 in a Girls "AAA" Quarterfinal Round game at the Convocation Center at California University of Pennsylvania Saturday Afternoon.  The first half was tight with the Colts only leading by 4 at halftime 21 to 17.  But Chartiers Valley outscored Uniontown 12 to 2 in the 3rd quarter and pulled away in the 2nd half for the 43 to 25 win.  Kassidy O'Keefe lead the Colts with 12 points while Mariah Wells was also in double figures with 11.  Jazmine Belt lead the Raiders with 10 points.  Chartiers Valley will play Hopewell in the Semi-Finals on Wednesday.  Uniontown who drops to 18-5 with the loss now must root for a Char Valley win in the Semi's for their season to continue in the PIAA playoffs.

South Park Eagles 62 – South Fayette Lions 33 
The Eagles got off to a hot start and never looked back.  South Fayette was held scoreless until the 1:41 mark of the first quarter, when freshman guard Jordan Kilgus converted a three-point play.  Sophomore forward Halie Torris dominated on both sides of the ball, leading South Park to a 14-6 advantage at the end of one.  South Fayette’s struggles continued in the second, as the powerful South Park offense made the defense of the Lions look nearly non-existent.  The Eagles outscored the Lions, 16-5, and headed to the locker room with a 30-11 lead.  As the second half began, South Park continued to roll.  Torris and junior guard Shelby Lindsay both hit the double digit mark on the scoreboard.  South Fayette saw a repeat of the first quarter, not scoring a point until junior guard Caitlin McLuckie hit a three pointer with 3:08 to go in the third.  The Lions trailed 48-15 and the end of three.  Senior guard Erika Ford showed signs of life for South Fayette in the fourth quarter, scoring 12 points.  Torris could not be contained by the Lions, however, putting up 10 points in the final quarter.  The Eagles rolled to a 62-33 victory.  South Fayette’s season comes to an end at (16-8).  Erika Ford led the Lions with 15 points.  South Park improves to (21-2) and will face Blackhawk on Wednesday in the semifinal round.  Halie Torris led all scorers with 25 points.  Shelby Lindsay also contributed 16 points for the Eagles.

Blackhawk Cougars 57 – New Castle Red Hurricane 44  
The Lady Canes jumped out to a 6-0 lead, but the Cougars scored the next 8, New Castle would never lead again as the defending WPIAL champions moved onto the semfinals with the win in a Section 2 rematch at Ambridge. Freshman Chassidy Omogrosso was held to just 9 points, 10 below her average but Alexis Graham and Bridgette Shaffer picked up the scoring slack, Graham scored 18 and Shaffer nailed 15 including two three pointers in the second quarter that allowed Blackhawk to lead 28-14 at the half. New Castle started the third quarter scoring the first six points, cutting the lead to 28-20, they would get no closer in the game. The Lady Canes got the deficit down to 9 at 48-39 in the fourth, but Blackhawk shot 12 of 20 from the charity stripe in the final quarter to claim the win and a date with South Park on Wednesday night.
Jamie Emge also scored 10 points for Blackhawk, now 21-3. The Cougars were 19 of 30 at the foul line and committed 13 turnovers. With the win, Blackhawk is also in the PIAA Tournament. New Castle was led by Christina Talbert with 17 points, Talbert may have played her final game at New Castle, the Lady Canes need Blackhawk to advance to the title game to qualify for PIAA play. New Castle was 8 of 18 from the foul line and committed 14 turnovers, the Lady Canes fall to 13-10 on the season.

WPIAL CLASS A Quarterfinals:

North Catholic Trojanettes 56 – St. Joseph Spartans 19 
A lot of games in this postseason have come down to the wire…this wasn't one of them. The defending champions and top-seed in girls Class A put this Section 2 rematch away early en route to a 37 point victory at North Allegheny High School. The Trojanettes jumped out to a 17-3 after one quarter, then increased their lead to 34-8 by halftime. Three North Catholic players led a balanced attack with 11 points each – Lauren Wolosik, Angela Nowacki and Becky Stark. Mallory Heinle led St. Joseph with 11 points as the Spartans fall to 14-9. North Catholic improved to 19-5 and will battle another Section 2 foe, Riverview in the Semifinals on Wednesday.

Riverview Raiders 56 – Monessen Greyhounds 47 
When push came ot shove, it was the fourth-seed and 20-win Greyhounds that blinked as the 12th-seed Raiders rolled into the Final Four. Riverview upset Monessen Saturday afternoon at California University of Pennsylvania in a girls WPIAL Class A Quarterfinals contest. The Raiders half court zone defense seemed to keep the Greyhounds off balance as perimeter shots rang off the rim and the Hounds inside game was shutdown. The Raiders raced out to a 14-6 lead after one quarter and hung on to a 21-18 lead at halftime. For the game, Monessen shot 33% from the field and 17% from beyond the three-point line. But the Greyhounds full court preasure defense started to pay off as the third quarter went back and fourth with Riverview clinging to a 35-34 lead after three quarters. With Ashley Bruni picking up her fourth four early in the third quarter, the brunt of the Raiders offense fell on the shoulders of 5'8 senior Mary Andrejko, and she did not disappoint. Andrejko did it all…hitting runners, jumpers, layups while breaking the pressure with her ball handling and doing steller work on the defensive side of the ball. The game was deadlocked at 45-45 with just over a minute left when Andrejko stole a Mariah Ward pass, scored the layup and was fouled by Geena Shrader. Andrejko added the free throw to make it 48-45. Shrader hit two free throws with :46 seconds left, then Ashley Bruni connected on one of two shots to make the score 49-47 Riverview with 28 seconds left and Monessen with the ball. Natawsja Sosnak missed a 3-point shot and the rebound was tied up by Erin Kennedy and Mariah Ward. But when both players hit the floor and the whistle blew,  Ward stood up over Kennedy shouting at her, earning herself a techinical. The Raiders made one of the two foul shots, but had the ball and hit two more free throws a seocnd later. Then Monessen coach Gina Naccarato picked up a technical and the gap would eventually widen to the final score of 56-47. Andrejoko led all scorers with 28 points while adding 5 steals and 6 rebounds. Bruni had 13 points and Kennedy added 11 points for the Raiders, who improve to 16-7 and will now face top-seed North Catholic in the Semifinals on Wednesday. Shrader paced Monessen with 25 points while Ward added 14 as the Greyhounds drop to 20-4. 

Vincentian Academy Royals 66 – Winchester Thurston Bears 31 
It was a familiar feeling for the Vincentian girls basketball team Saturday at North Hills High School. The Royals, seeded #2 in Class A, scored another blowout in the 2012 WPIAL playoffs, blasting #10 WInchester Thurston 66-31 in a game that was never in doubt. Plagued by 21 turnovers, the Bears would trail 51-15 at the break. Vincentian would not play their starters for much of the 2nd half, as they only managed to score 15 points after intermission. The Royals, playing without leading scorer Brenna Wise, got excellent efforts from Noreen Fischer (17 points, 8 rebounds) and Ashlee Darby (15 points, 9 rebounds). That combo only scored a combined one point and grabbed two rebounds in the second half. Laura Primyon (12 points) and Bridget Melvin (10 points) also hit double digits for Vincentian. Shala Barney paced Winchester Thurston with 10 points and 7 rebounds off the bench. The Bears have their WPIAL season come to an end at 13-10 and will need Vincentian to win the WPIAL Championship for them to reach the PIAA playoffs. That is a good possibility though, as the Royals move to 23-1 on the season and will meet #3 Fort Cherry (23-1) in the Semifinals.

Fort Cherry Rangers 60 – Cornell Raiders 26  
Carolena Gasbarro and Bekah Bellhy combined for 37 points leading Ft. Cherry past Cornell, 60-26, Saturday afternoon. The Rangers (23-1) advance to the WPIAL Semifinals against #2 Vincentian Academy next week and also clinch a berth in the PIAA tournament.  From a 6-4 lead midway through the first quarter, Ft. Cherry got a couple three-pointers from Kelly Slates and five points from Bellhy on the way to a 19-6 lead after one.  Before Cornell hit double digits on the scoreboard, the Rangers had put together runs of 11-2, 8-1 and 10-0 and put the game away early. Gasbarro finished with 20 points, Bellhy had 17.  Eight different players scored for Ft. Cherry.  Mason Depetro had nine points for Cornell (12-12).  The Raiders now become Ft. Cherry's biggest fans.  If the Rangers win the WPIAL title, Cornell qualifies for the PIAA playoffs.

Girls Grade School:

Brookline Regional Lady JV Bulldogs 36 – St. Margaret 35
After falling behind 18-3 with 2 minutes gone in the 2nd quarter the Brookline Regional Bulldogs mounted a furious comeback and defeated the St Margaret Mustangs 36-35 on Saturday evening at St Margaret's McDonough Gymnasium.  The furious rally was keyed by the incredible play of 6th grader Torry Hudson, who initially did not start the game because of an illness, but once inserted played brilliantly at the Point Guard position.  A huge 4th quarter by Julia Vrabel of complete dominance in the paint resulted in Vrabel getting the winning basket for the Bulldogs with 6 seconds to go.
The Bulldogs outscored the Mustangs 17 to 6 in the 4th to pull out the close victory.  The Bulldogs will next be in action this coming weekend in the Diocesan Playoffs at a site and time to be determined.

Tags: Fort Cherry